Saturday, March 04, 2006

Gluten-free spinach and fetta pie

I don’t often buy spinach. A macrobiotic friend had mutter dark bodings about oxalic acid once and after that I had dropped it off the bottom of the shopping list. But when I saw it at the market this week, something told me I just had to have it.

Spinach pie is a classic – but this one isn’t. For a start I rarely eat cheese, but every now and then will see how my body copes with a little sheep’s milk. This was one of those days, but I didn’t want to push the boundaries of my wayward gut by risking flour and dairy in the same meal.

This is what I came up with.

Gluten-free spinach and fetta pie

For the crustPeel and grate potato, enough to cover whatever size pan, pie dish or casserole you are using. Squeeze out as much water as possible and push down into the base of your well oiled pan. Sprinkle a little olive oil on top. Bake uncovered at about 205c for about 25 minutes. Check that the edges don’t burn.

While cooking the crust prepare the ingredient.Slice a large leek or a couple of medium sized one. Sauté in butter (butter really adds a creamy dimension to the dish). Do it slowly, be patient, it will take a while but you will have lovely, buttery leeks.Pick over, de-stalk and thoroughly wash a bunch of spinach (more if you are making a bigger pie). Shake off the water and throw in a large pot, over a medium heat. You don’t need to add anything to the pot as there is always enough moisture clinging to the leaves to steam it. Toss with your tongs frequently, to get even cooking. This won’t take long, so don’t leave it unattended. When cooked, drain the spinach thoroughly and put aside.

Beat a couple of nice organic eggs. Once again, if you are making a large version, or you want it to be more quiche-like ie: eggy, throw in a few more. Add a pinch salt (the fetta is usually pretty salty so use a light hand), pepper and grate in a little nutmeg. Doesn’t that nutmeg smell wonderful! Whisk the eggs and seasoning together.

Assemble your pie fillings. Mix the leeks and spinach in a bowl and crumble in some fetta cheese. Stir through the beaten eggs – enough to generously coat the vegetables. By now your crust should be cooked. If you want a crispier crust leave it longer, but put some baking paper over it so the top doesn’t burn. Spoon the topping on the potato base and put into a moderate-warm oven (180-200c depending on the vagaries of your appliance.

So far so good!

I checked the oven after 15 minutes (I was guessing cooking time would take 25-35 minutes) but to my horror found the oven had turned itself off. It was one of those days, the plumbing was playing up and I’d had to turn the water off at the mains as well.

Oven reignited, I left it to cook. So sorry, no exact cooking time – presuming your oven is working, check at about 25 minutes and take it from there. It is done when the egg is set.

Despite the great ingredients, I was poised for disaster when I took it out of the oven. It smelt great, looked good and I was pleasantly surprised - tasted even better. The base was more soft than crunchy, but was a good foil to the saltiness of the fetta. The vegetable/egg/cheese mix was remarkably creamy. I have to say – it turned out a winner.

The only failure of the night was my food lack-of-styling and photography. In too much of a hurry as always. This doesn’t do the dish justice, looks more like scrambled eggs, but just use your imagination.

4 Comments:

Thanks for another mouth-watering recipe. Is there a better kitchen aroma than leeks gently sautee-ing in butter? If so I'm yet to discover it...I've made a similar pie but I used a rice crust which works really well, instead of the potato. I don't blame you for being a bit hasty in serving this scrumptious dish, but the photo is not too bad - I rather like the "rustic" presentation, it looks much more inviting than a perfect wedge sitting on the plate.You have a lovely way of writing about the food you're cooking, much more enticing than just reading a list of ingredients and method.

The spinach pie looks awesome! Don't worry about the picture. My best tasting dishes never look all that great either.

I also wanted to thank you for telling me about escolar side effects. I thought your comments were very thoughtful and completely appropriate. What good is delicious food if it makes you feel terrible afterwards?

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